Canucks open practice to public at Rogers Arena
On the weekend of September 17-18, the Canucks held two open practices at Rogers Arena. They were free, and included a mix of veterans and new recruits.
Newcomer Nicklas Jensen shows major promise
Picked in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft, 29th overall, 18-year-old Nicklas Jensen offers the Canucks organization another high quality right winger
Rypien tragedy a lesson for hockey fans
As a fan of hockey fights, it can be easy to forget just how real the combatants are. What Rypien’s death hopefully adds is the realization that these players are human, not just physically, but mentally as well.
Marco Sturm joins a newly modified Canucks squad
Mike Gillis did not have much time to mourn after his team failed to show up in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. After acquiring Nicklas Jensen, Alexandre Grenier, and a couple others in the NHL Entry Draft, Gillis had to quickly deal with an impending free agency period.
The Cup run that almost was
It wouldn’t be fair to call it a failure of a season, after winning the President’s trophy and falling just one place short of first in the most grueling postseason imaginable. Yet one can’t help but wonder what could have been and what exactly went wrong with the team just one win away from the ultimate prize. For longtime fans it was like watching the greatest movie with the bitterest of endings. From controversy to injury, the final round didn’t go the way anyone hoped, but maybe these are the lessons this group needed to learn for another shot next year.
Double standards in injury reporting
June 4 was a glorious day in Vancouver. This wasn’t just because of a win in game two – this is the day that Canuck fans everywhere saw Manny Malhotra sporting a helmet once more, rather than some Versace sunglasses.
Roberto Luongo makes history
Roberto Luongo AKA Luuuuu entered the NHL on November 28, 1999 recording a win against, you guessed it, the Boston Bruins. He faced 44 shots in his first game and made 43 saves. “I found out about my call-up after a practice in the AHL. I got called into the coaches’ office. After getting the news, I was very excited and nervous. The day of the game I had lots of butterflies but was overcome with joy and happiness,” he reflected in the Forty Years Canucks guide. “After my first game ended I was proud that I had finally realized my dream and couldn’t wait for the next one.” His first ever shutout came just under a month later… again defeating the Bruins!
Shots, Shots, Shots for Boom Boom Bieksa
Kevin Bieksa has come up huge in the 2011 playoffs; not only with three goals and an assist in the first three games of the Conference Finals, but also with his extraordinary defensive play. If the 7-3 victory in game two against the Sharks was maybe the most fun game of the playoffs to date, it should be no surprise that Bieksa played an enormous role in making that happen, managing a Gordie Howe Hat Trick (goal, assist and a fight) and first star in the game. That is because although Kevin Bieksa is one of the toughest players in the NHL, he’s also one of the most entertaining.
A moment with UFV grad Daniel Skeeter, co-founder of Pass it to Bulis
Pass it to Bulis is a Canucks blog that has been around for just over a year. Co-founded by Daniel Skeeter and UFV alumnus Harrison Mooney, the blog presents a fresh perspective on the face of the game. Mooney’s humourous takes and Skeeter’s analytical skills work well to present an entertaining view of a sometimes overly-serious topic for Vancouverites. Blog highlights include a California road trip to follow the Canucks – where the writers ended up sitting behind Manny Malhotra’s father-in-law, otherwise known as the father of Victoria’s basketball darling Steve Nash. Also, the bloggers initiated a scrabble battle against Dartmouth alum Tanner Glass, raising an estimated $8000 for Canuck Place in the process. Take pride, UFV – Mooney did us proud, beating Glass 344-313.
Pustules, shin splints, and mad whale disease – oh my!
Injuries are serious things no matter what sport you’re playing. The NFL and NHL are currently deeply concerned about the dangers of concussions; the frightening truth is that fans are at danger of injuries every bit as serious. Bandwagoning has its own set of dangers that are very real, and while a lockout isn’t realistic for a fantastically large fan base, there are some simple steps bandwagoners can take to avoid potential tragedy.
Ryan Kesler carries the team on his back
At age 13, Ryan Kesler couldn’t make the cut on any team he tried out for. Rather than giving up, though, he traveled home to play for a Bantam team of his father’s. Millions of Vancouver Canuck fans are thanking their lucky stars for that, as he’s become a central figure for the final Canadian team in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
A matter of speculation
One of the rules of playoff hockey is never, ever start planning too far ahead. No game is a sure win, no team is undefeatable, and no series is over until it’s over. If the Canucks’ near-collapse against Chicago in the first round showed anything, it’s that the ‘Nucks are as fickle in fortune (and goal-tending) as Calypso herself. When it comes to Vancouver, it’s risky to count on them winning the next game, let alone the immediate series, yet winning is exactly what they are doing. So I’m going to break one of the rules of playoff hockey and dabble in a little speculation. The question is purely hypothetical: which team is the best match up for the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals?
A President to remember
Rogers Arena loomed large. “Don’t worry,” he told me as we walked towards it. “We’ll have no problem finding seats.” I’m not worried. If you can say nothing else about the guy, he knows how to get into a game. The man has attended some of the largest games in the last couple years, including several at the Olympics in Vancouver; this year he’d seen both outdoor NHL games. The atmosphere leading into this game was surprisingly tense, given the Canucks had pulled away so far in points from every major contender. Tonight was about something. Tonight was going to make Canucks history.
Stats, Superstition and the Canucks
There is something about Vancouver that makes it the perfect storm for an obsession with hockey. Compare the message boards on each of the official NHL team websites and you might find the Canucks’ board is leaps and bounds more popular than those in most other cities. Turn your radio dial to Team 1040 and chances are good that there will be a couple of people chatting about the Canucks – if they aren’t broadcasting one of their games, that is. Maybe it’s because we don’t have a big NBA or MLB team, but for whatever reason, it is our favourite distraction here; the outcome of a game can change the collective mood of the entire city. Sure, we have more than our fair share of idiot fans, but we don’t get credit for the devoted, intelligent ones we’ve got as well. But if you pay attention long enough, you’ll start to pick up a few things about hockey that you might not have guessed if you lived somewhere else.
Vigneault’s journey to Vancouver pays off
As he quickly approaches his 50th birthday, head honcho behind the Vancouver Canucks bench Alain Vigneault has been perfecting the craft of coaching for nearly half his life. Thirty-three seasons ago, Vigneault began to play for the Hull Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) at the young age of 16. His playing career would prove to be short-lived, with only two seasons in the NHL, but his true talent as a coach emerged shortly-thereafter as he took the reigns of a team he had played for just a few years before. It was a road that would eventually see him in Vancouver where he would win the Jack Adams Award for the NHL coach most responsible for his team’s success.
Hamhuis comes home
Born in Smithers, BC, Daniel Hamhuis is playing for the home team in Vancouver. It should be no surprise that the 6’1” defenceman has a large (and growing) cheering section in the Rogers Arena stands, but he’s also developed fans across the country for his Team Canada play, and across the world for his humanitarian efforts.
Maxim Lapierre has Canuck connections
Drafted in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, 61 overall, Maxim Lapierre went on to play five-and-a-half seasons within the Montreal Canadiens organization, before two quick trades this season saw him take a quick two-month stopover in Anaheim before making his way to Vancouver.
Too Sauvé to stay down
A disaster on the blue line for the Canucks was a miraculous turn of good luck for a young Montreal-native. He faced a disaster of his own last September when an ordinary stroll down an ordinary crosswalk turned into a two-month journey back to hockey from a serious concussion.
Cody Hodgson gets his chance
In a recent radio interview with Team 1040, Mike Gillis made it clear that 20-year-old Cody Hodgson has a genuine chance to stay with the team, as long as his play is adequate. Though ultimately fans have been waiting even longer in anticipation of his transition to the NHL, many developed extremely high hopes for him after his performance as assistant captain in the 2009 World Junior Championships. He led the tournament with a 16-point explosion in the six games that saw Canada win gold on home soil.
If 23 was key, where will they be without?
At just 24 years of age, Alexander Edler has become the most solid defensemen on the roster of the Vancouver Canucks. His calm, reliable passes out of the zone are only upstaged by his recent, but increasingly impressive, physical play. It may have been too much of a good thing, however, as a recent back injury has taken him out of the game for at least a few months. He will be missed. In fact, the Canucks may have to pull out all the stops if their battered and beaten blue-line starts to let them down too frequently in the absence of number 23.
Critical Canucks fan or bandwagon hopper?
The Canucks play a completely sub par game and let an obviously lesser team leave their arena with two glorious points; Luongo lets in two absolutely brutal goals that “he’d love to have back”; and most of the team hasn’t scored since last year! Dare to critique them, though, call the game the way you see it, and you’ll be labeled a bandwagon hopper.
Shirokov battles his way back
Prior to being recalled to the Canucks for the January 18 game against the Avalanche, Sergei Shirokov had only played six games in the NHL. He began the 2009-2010 season with Vancouver, but managed just four shots on goal, and found himself with a minus-four plus-minus rating. For a young, Russian player with such promise, it was a huge disappointment.
Jeff Tambellini: passionate about this team
Though Jeff Tambellini is a new face in the Canucks’s locker room, Steve Tambellini, his father and BC Hockey Hall-of-Famer, played three seasons for the Canucks back in the 80s, and after working with the team for many years, he went on to become the Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the team in June 2004. Originally from Trail, Steve has since gone on to become the General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers. Jeff has had an impressive beginning to his hockey career as well, and though he hasn’t shown as much success in the NHL so far, his play in Vancouver is starting to get him noticed.
Canucks right ship by sinking Sharks
It is hard to sound the alarm bells too loudly when the team remains atop the Northwest division despite a four game losing streak, but it’s even more difficult to complain after the Canucks’ brilliant effort against the San Jose Sharks, their second win in a row. Not only did they win a game against a team they are notoriously terrible against, but they played sound defensively, only allowing one goal, while getting six goals from five players who really needed to score.
